In the past two weeks the gospels have told the story of Jesus preaching in the synagogues in Galilee, then coming to the one in Nazareth, where, on the sabbath day he stood up to read from Isaiah that the Spirit of the Lord is upon me … but his townsfolk rejected him. 

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This week the gospel setting is different (Luke 5:1-11).  Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

The people of Nazareth may have rejected him but there were still so many people who wanted to hear the word of God from him that they pressed in on him. The crowd may or may not have known that he had been driven from the synagogue, but they wanted to hear what he had to say. Something told them that Jesus’ teachings were worth listening to. 

The shift in locations is significant. No longer in a synagogue, Jesus had taken his message to the place where fishermen… were washing their nets. It implied that his work and messages applied to daily life, not just the sabbath. He got into one of the boats…and …  put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. Rather than standing, as he had to read in the synagogue, he sat down in a boat: a more informal way of communicating.

Having agreed to let Jesus use his boat as a perch for teaching, Simon probably listened to Jesus as he cleaned his nets. 

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Another sign that Jesus was different occurred next.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 

Having heard Jesus speak, Peter recognized his wisdom by addressing him as Master.

Jesus had not only spoken to people about God in a new context, but he was also attuned to the fishermen who had worked all night long but had caught nothing. After a futile night of fishing followed by a morning of cleaning nets Simon and the others would have been tired. His suggestion to “put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch” challenged their experience and invited trust. 

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Still, something about Jesus’ manner elicited faith and hope. Peter set his skepticism aside and said, if you say so, I will let down the nets.”  When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 

The pendulum had swung completely the other direction. Rather than catching nothing… they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break…and they…. filled both boats, so that they began to sink. The experience of plenty demonstrated what Jesus would say in John 10:10: I come to bring life and to bring it abundantly.

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When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Simon Peter’s reaction seems strange. We might expect that he would have said something like, ‘thank you a thousand times over’, not, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”  Peter seemed to have appreciated that Jesus was a good person who lived the kind of life that Peter might have aspired to… then had backed away from. He may have seen his own life in contrast to that of Jesus’ and compared himself unfavourably. 

Peter may have also internalized a sense of self-worth from his society. His job was manual labour. It did not require him to read or write, skills that would have given him a different status in Israel. He had probably been dismissed by scribes and priests a number of times because of his low level of literacy. Perhaps Jesus, himself a carpenter, who worked with his hands and muscles, would have also been dismissed by the same people and he would have understood Peter’s sense of himself. Regardless of the sense of self-worth, it would have been unusual for a teacher, like Jesus, to treat him with such respect and generosity.

That Jesus had recognized the frustration and exhaustion of a night of fishing without catching anything, then offered this enormous catch was personal. It showed that Jesus understood Peter’s needs but that he also spoke to something deeper in his heart. As the gospels would show, Peter was gregarious. Jesus had intuited this and tapped into his social as well as his spiritual desires by telling him from now on you will be catching people. Jesus had recognized Peter’s potential, something that few others had.

The final words of the gospel, When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him, tell us that Jesus had tapped into something in the three of them that lifted their gaze towards God in a way that also lifted them. They didn’t hesitate. The three of them… Peter, James and John … were instantly sure that following Jesus was the right thing to do. The miracle of many fish was insignificant compared to what they saw that they could learn from Jesus by following him. He gave them hope and opened the door to almost unimaginable opportunities for them. They couldn’t not follow!

It was their Epiphany moment. 

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  •  Imagine that you are going to direct a film of the opening of this gospel. Picture Jesus walking by the lake and noticing Simon Peter pulling his nets from the boat. Capture Jesus making eye-contact with Peter and gesturing towards his boat, asking if he could sit in it to talk with people, and Peter nodding assent. Now keep ‘the camera’ on Peter as he cocks an ear in Jesus' direction while he pulls seaweed and sticks from his nets. How do you see Peter paying silent attention? Does he pause as he listens? How does he react to Jesus' words?  Does his face change as a new awareness comes to him about Jesus?
  • What do you think happened to all the fish that Simon Peter, James and John landed that day? Did they give them away? Was the miracle something that benefitted the whole community by the lake? What did they say about Jesus if they handed out the fish? 
  • Recall a time when someone saw your potential in a way that you had not imagined it yourself. Perhaps you were offered a role or position that you had not sought. Maybe someone asked your advice in a way that made you realize you could fill a different role in people’s lives. What did that feel like? What ‘doors’ did it open for your consideration? How do you translate that experience into an insight about Peter’s response to Jesus, by leaving everything and following him.

Peace

Michael